The Associated Students of Madison voted to fully endorse the Wisconsin Initiative for Undergraduates Wednesday despite uncertainties about student support.
The initiative, drafted by Chancellor Biddy Martin, would raise tuition to increase financial aid and academic support. According to Martin, the initiative would help UW-Madison remain competitive with other Big Ten schools. It will go before the Board of Regents May 7-8.
""I think we're at a tipping point in terms of faculty hired and the quality of this institution relative to our peers,"" ASM representative Jeffrey Wright said. ""Something needs to be done and it's certainly not going to happen, at least in short term, out of the Capitol.""
ASM sent out a poll about the initiative via e-mail April 3 which garnered over 2,000 responses. About 20 percent of the respondents expressed support for the initiative, while 40 percent were neutral and 40 percent were opposed.
Following a partial endorsement of the initiative at the last meeting, representatives said they talked to their constituents and found them to be supportive of the initiative.
Many said students initially expressed opposition but changed their minds when hearing more about the initiative.
""There was a lot of opposition right away, but over time that opposition has died down,"" ASM Secretary Hilary Minor said. ""The more I talk to my constituents, the more I see that ‘aha' moment … when they look at those benefits down the line.""
In the poll, about 40 percent of students said they were ""moderately"" to ""very"" familiar with the initiative, while about 60 percent of students said they were ""slightly"" to ""not at all"" familiar.
ASM Safety Committee Chair Sol Grosskopf said the council shouldn't dismiss student opposition as being linked only to lack of education.
""To say students are simply not educated about this and vote against them is unfair,"" Grosskopf said.
Other representatives said the council's perceptions of student views could be skewed by their methods of outreach, which mostly include talking with friends or peers in their student organizations.
""Some of us could be facing self-selection problems,"" Wright said. ""People we've been outreaching to may be most closely aligned with our way of thinking, and that needs to be recognized.""
After debate, ASM voted 17-3-1 for the endorsement. Representative Dakota Kaiser voted against the initiative because he said the initiative lacks measurable outcomes, and could discourage students from applying who are unaware of the financial aid opportunities.
Both ASM graduate student representatives abstained from voting because they said the decision should come from the undergraduate representatives. Representative Kara Marnell also abstained.
